KARACHI, Nov 6: Police had arrested 489 lawyers and political workers across Sindh since Monday morning, a top government official said on Tuesday.

“We have arrested 489 lawyers and political workers across the province and most of them were arrested on Monday under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance,” Ghulam Mohammad Mohtaram, provincial home secretary, told Dawn.

According to official figures, most of the arrests were made in Karachi. Mr Mohtarram said some 336 people were arrested in Karachi on Monday.

“Of the 336 arrested people, 191 were political workers and the others were lawyers,” he said.

According to the breakdown given by Mr Mohtaram, some 102 lawyers and political workers were arrested in Sukkur while 51 others were arrested in the Hyderabad region.

“More than half of the people arrested in Sukkur and Hyderabad were political workers and not lawyers,” he said.

According to him, at least 100 of the detainees had already been released by police and fewer than 400 were detained in different parts of Sindh till Tuesday evening.